>> jeff: tonight with six weeks to election day, mitt romney is being urged by some republicans to sharpen his message. nancy cordist follows this debate inside the gop. californians reconsider the death penalty. john blackstone tells us the debate pits emotion against economics. >> justice at last. he was getting what he deserved. >> california spent over $4 billion. it makes no sense economically. >> jeff: deportations delayed. two brothers from mexico now will have to stay in the u.s. under i new federal program. >> we're to the asked to be given the best opportunities. we're just asking for a chance. >> jeff: and conair, allen pizzey with the story of the italian who tried to play pilot captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> jeff: good evening,

everyone, i'm jeff glor. 9 chair of the republican party admitted today that it is not the best week for the gop presidential ticket. the polls seem to reflect that. with 44 days left in the race governor romney trails by a few points or more in nearly every battleground state. nancy cordist picks up the story. >> reporter: in beverly hills, california, last night, governor mitt romney was urging donors to keep an open mind after a rocky week. >> you may not agree with me on every issue. and the american people may not agree with me on every issue. but i done think i have ever been called anything besides a strong leader. i know how to lead. i will bring america together. i will not divide america. >> reporter: something in the key state of wisconsin the president criticized romney again yesterday for comments he made about the 47 percent of americans who don't pay federal income taxes. >> we can't get very far if we're just writing off half the country as a bunch of victims. or presume that somehow they

want to be dependent on government or don't want to take responsibility for their own lives. >> reporter: romney's comments about the 47% set off a round of hand-wringing among some republicans this week. vice presidential nominee paul ryan sought to quell the doubters at a town hall in florida. >> there will always be critics. there are always people who have other ideas on how best to achieve things. but guess what, i have rarely seen a moment where the man and the moment have met so well. >> reporter: today the chairman of the republican national committee pushed back against gop complaints that romney isn't getting specific enough about his plans. >> i far as specifics go, we're the only ones talking about how to save medicare. the president is the one that raid medicare by $700 billion. i mean we've got specifics coming out of our eyeballs. >> reporter: but some influential republicans are still speaking up like wisconsin governor scott walker who told fox news the romney campaign needs more

passion. >> i want to see him lit up and ready to go because that's the mitt romney i know. the more we get off on side individuals where individual taxes or this video comment, that distracts from the largest issues at take. >> reporter: the president heads to the united nations general a sellably. he won't be meeting with any foreign leaders one-on-one, though he is taking time for the ladies of "the view" and will be addressing the clinton global initiative qferbs on-- conference on tuesday as with romney. then governor romney will ramp up his campaign appearances with a multibus tour through ohio starting wednesday. >> jeff: thank you. for his part romney insists his campaign is on the right course. he spoke to scott pelley for a "60 minutes" interview that will air tonight. >> pinkston: you are slipping in the poll-- . >> pelley: you are slipping in the poles at this moment. a lot of republicans are concerned about this campaign. you bill yourself as a turn around artist, how are you going to turn it around. >> actually we're tied at

the polls, all within the margin of errors. we bounce around week-to-week, some days we're up, some down. we go forward with my message that this is the time to reinvigorate the american economy, not by expanding government and raising taxes on people, but instead by making sure government encourages entrepreneurship and invasion and gets the private sector hiring again. >> pelley: governor, i appreciate your message very much but that wasn't precisely the question. you're the c.e.o. of this campaign. a lot of republican was like to know a lot of your donors would like to know how to turn this thing around? you've got a little more than six weeks. what do you do? >> well, it doesn't need a turn around. we've got a campaign which is tied with an incumbent president of the united states. >> pelley: as you know a lot of people were concerned about the video of the fund-raiser in which you talked about the 47% of the american people who don't pay taxes. peggy noonan, a very well-known conservative columnist said that it was an example of this campaign

being incompetent. and i wonder if any of that criticism gets through to you. and whether you're concerned about it at all. whether concerns-- . >> that's not the campaign that was me. >> pelley: are you the campaign. >> i have a very effective campaign. it's doing a very good job. but not everything i say is elegant. and i want to make it very clear. i want to help 100% of the american people. >> jeff: you can see the full scott pelley interview with mitt romney and steve krofts interview later on "60 minutes." >> bill clinton voice-- he told face the nation's bob schieffer the outcome could help congress deal with a so-called fiscal cliff. mandatory budget cuts that would take effect in january if the gridlock congress finds no agreement on targeted cuts. >> something has to change so that both parties see that they have more to gain from doing than to the doing. and i think what will happen is when the election occurs,

let's say the president wins. i believe he will. if he wins, then he can't run again, the calculus of the congress will change. they will be facing this fiscal cliff, and if doing exactly what it intended to do it will force them to concentrate. i believe there will be a lame duck session of congress in which they will either reach the beginnings of a budget deal or more likely agree to some sort of period of time to avoid the fiscal cliff and make the budget deal then. i think that as soon as this election is over the incentive for gridlock will go way down and the incentives for action will go way up. >> jeff: california could become the fifth state tow eliminate the death penalty if voters there approve one of the most closely watched measures on this november's ballot. what the voters end up deciding will carry financial and emotional consequences. john blackstone reports. >> reporter: nearly two decades have passed since

12-year-old pauley klassa was skid napped from the bedroom of her california home. her body was found weeks later after a desperate nationwide search. when her convicted killer richard allen davis was sentenced to death, paulie's father mark was in the courtroom. >> justice at last, that's what went through my mind. he was getting what he deserved. >> reporter: that was 16 years ago. >> back then my expectation was that he would have been executed by now. >> reporter: instead, davis remains alive, one of the more than 700 inmates on california's death row, where the condemned are more likely to die of natural causes. 57 have died naturally, but only 13 have been executed since the state's death penalty law took effect in 1978. former prosecutor donald heller wrote the law. >> this is a western state it they have kind of a western mentality of give them a fair trial and hang them high.

when i wrote the law i absolutely believed in it. >> reporter: now he wants to repeal the law. he's backing proposition 34 which would eliminate california's death penalty. proponents say the issue is not just one of morality, it's also about money. death penalty cases cost the state an extra 100 million dollars a year, much in lawyers fees for extensive appeals. >> california spent over $4 billion trying to enforce capital punishment. $4 billion for 13 people. it makes no sense economically. >> reporter: polls indicate the vote on the ballot measure will be close. mark klaas is hoping voters defeat it. >> it if proposition 34 passes and richard allen davis is taken off death row, then he wins and we lose. and for paulie's memory, then i guess maybe paulie did die in vain. >> i feel for mark, what

he's gone through personally. but life without parole doesn't mean that richard 58 endavis has won. >> reporter: in voting on the death penalty californians will weigh economics against emotion, as an anguished father's long wait for justice stretches on. >> john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. >> jeff: there were new protests today over that internet video that mocks islam's prophet mohammed. in yemen hundreds of women shouted anti-western slogans to protest the video made by a man living outside los angeles. hard line islamists in bangladesh forced a strike that shut down the country's schools and businesses. in greece hundreds of muslim protestors turned outs to express their anger as well and protests continued for another day in pakistan. unlike provide's deadly clashes, those were smaller and subdued. on the eve of his visit to the united states, egypt's first freely elected president has a message for washington. mohammad morsi says unlike

the mubarak regime, his government he says will demonstrate more independence from the u.s. morsi told the "new york times" the u.s. had become des pieced because it had a history of backing dictators in the middle east there was another sunday terrorist attack targeting christians in nigeria outside a catholic church. the suicide car bomb killed at least two and injured 45. no one has claimed responsibility. but christians in the area have been targeted by the radical islamist group procal harrem. later a fyke air-- fake ar line pilot caught in the act. a deadly avalanche in the high himalayas, and they came illy-- illegally as children, now they're safe from deportation at least for now. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues.

>> jeff: an avalanche today swept away climbers in the world's 8th highest mountain

in neppal, and killed at least ten people. knife injured climbers were rescued by helicopters. survivors said they were sleeping when the avalanche struck on the nearly 27,000 foot peak. the victims are leaved-- believed to be europeans. the wildfire threat is easing for hundreds of people in central washington state tonight. near fight-- firefighters say there is progress in the two week battle against wildfires that have burned more than 140 square miles of forest, brush and grass. more than 1.5 million undocumented young people are eligible to apply for permission to stay in the u.s. under a program announced by the president in june. all of them came here illegally as children. the first applicants were accepted this month. john bentley introduces us to two of them. >> reporter: the trouble started for carlos and rafael robles two years ago while they were on a frayne from their home outside chicago to visit a friend at harvard. >> these officers were asking everybody for their passport and citizenship.

we told the truth and we said we're mexican citizens, so then ravi comes out wearing an original jump suit. >> rafael who was 19 and carlos 20 were taken off the train and put in a county jail in buffalo, new york. >> i have never, like, once thought i would be in a jail, like i ever. >> reporter: after three days in jail, they were freed. their high school tennis coach posted the $10,000 bond. deportation proceedings were under way when president obama announced deferred action from deportation. >> it makes no sense to expel talented young people who for all intents and purposes are americans. >> reporter: the brothers immediately applied and are among the first in the country to be accepted. what was your first reaction when you heard about deportation relief. >> we were extremely happy because of my younge sister. >> they came when they were kids in 2004. brought by their parents from mexico. now the brothers can continue their college education legal. >> so you just know that you

are safe now and that you're going to be able to carry on with your goals. so go to college, get a job and just contribute back to society. >> reporter: critics say that allowing immigrants like carlos and rafael into the u.s. makes it harder for american students to get into college and to get jobs after college because of the increased competition for a limited number of spots. >> we're not asking to be given the best job. we're not asking to be given the best opportunities. we're just asking for a chance. >> reporter: rafael is studying architecture at the university of illinois, chicago. >> first you got to figure out. >> reporter: carlos is an assistant tennis coach at his old high school and working on his teaching degree at loyola university. >> i saw all the support and love peach teachers gave me. and seeing that you can affect someone's life that way, by being an educator just really made me feel like that that was the right thing for me to do. >> reporter: carlos and rafael say they want to give back to the country that has welcomed them in. john bentley, cbs news, chicago.

>> jeff: the journal nature reports tonight that researchers have identified four different genetic types of breast cancer. the research could lead to new breast cancer treatments using drugs already a of product for other types of cancer. next up, path to the white house. the ongoing debate over the electoral college.

>> jeff: the so-called battleground states loom large in presidential campaigns because of the electoral college. in all but two states the winner of the popular vote is awarded all its electoral votes. those votes equal the state's number of congressman plus senators. the white house goes to the candidate who gets to the

magic number of 270 electoral votes. the system is as old as the u.s. constitution. though many argue it is one part that needs to go. guaranteeing who ever wins the national popular vote wins the white house is a goal of richard cotty, a democratic state senator from new jersey. >> when you hear the words electoral college, you think what. >> 1776. i mean it's outdated. >> jeff: exhibit a for him, the disputed election of 2000, won by george w. bush, even though al gore won half a million more votes. >> you get another situation like that, bingo bango, we got it. >> jeff: what cotty got in his home state is a law that would require new jersey to award the electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote no matter who wins the state. seven other states have passed laws to do the same thing. but the pact would take effect until their ranks double. the complaints, except for fund-raisers, the candidates don't campaign in roughly 40

of our 50 states. because they're not those all important swing states. visited over and over again. >> thank you so much, florida. >> hello, virginia. >> i need ohio to help me become the next president. >> we win colorado, i will get four more years. >> i think our founding fathers had it right. >> jeff: republican new jersey state representative allison says even though 62% of americans say they would support replacing the electoral college with a national popular vote, the current system ensures against big city domination. >> what i believe is that you will have large urban areas like los angeles and chicago determining the outcome of the elections. >> she also considers the popular vote fact an end run around mending the constitution. >> they don't have the votes so they're trying to get around that by going state legislatures and saying join us, come with us. we want to do this. and i think it's sort of a copout. >> they're saying the end justifies the means.

>> yes. but i done believe they're right. >> jeff: richard cotty remains opposite. >> you think it happens. >> i think the closer the romney obama vote gets, that's more of a fact never decide wlooing this gets done in four years or eight years or maybe even 12. >> jeff: george w. bush was actually the fourth man to become president without winning the popular vote after john quincey adams, rutherford hayes and benjamin harrison. proponents of the pact say they would face legal challenges if they tried to implement it and we'll be right back.

washington, d.c. reported today that a baby panda born six days ago has died. keepers were alerted to a problem this morning by distressed sound from the cub's mother. they saw no signs of trauma or illness. an investigation not cause of death is under way. a family dog separated from its owner seven years ago in the aftermath of hurricane katrina has been found alive. more than 800 miles from home. 15-year-old shortie was found along a road in north carolina last week. nobody knows how he got there. short yeaux's family was identified thanks to a tracking microchip embedded under his fur. no word on a reunion. shortie requires surgery for dental disease and suffers a heart murr more. there has been a spectacular light show over britan and ireland. thousands of people reported seeing up to 20 fireballs streaking across the sky friday night. officials say the meteorites were probably space junk burning up in the upper

atmosphere. still ahead here tonight, pilot error, how did this impostor end up in the cockpit?

>> finally tonight if it looks like the scene out of a movie that is because it is exactly what one man in italy was going for. from rome allen pizzey explains. >> you can't blame a guy for trying but passengers on a flight operated by the german carrier lufthansa can be grateful this one didn't succeed. according to his facebook and twitter pages the man in the cockpit window is captain andrea-- in fact, he is an unemployed 32-year-old italian with a fantasy about being an airline pilot. italian police stopped him at the airport wearing a pilot uniform and carrying fake i.d. cards. the captain had a garage full of airline paraphernalia that included parking permits, training manuals and uniforms, everything except real qualification but it was enough to get him into the

cockpit in a flight in april and perhaps one other. fortunately he didn't touch the control. >> come fly with me ♪ ♪. >> he told police he was mimicking the film, catch me if you can, in which lee nardor dicaprio played-- who successfully passed himself off as a pannal pilot. the police were first stipped off a few months ago when he spoke to an aviation official who thought he seemed too young to be a captain. but maybe the name andrea serlo would be a tippoff that was the aviation coach for the flight corridor over turin. allen pizzey, rome. >> jeff: that is the "cbs evening news." later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. scott pelley will be here tomorrow. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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